SALON HECATE was launched Noordhoek Art Point last night. Art lovers from across the peninsula gathered to celebrate the new space which will welcome readings, book signings and discussions throughout 2023 and beyond.
Thank you to the gallery and Helen Moffett for welcoming writers into this exciting place of co-existence between the visual arts and literature.
Melissa A. Volker and Stephen Symons, among others, read from their works and I read from one of the stories included in Let It Fall Where It Will by Lester Walbrugh because Lester was baking Grabouw Bread between insane bouts of loadshedding and could not make it to the launch (it was an honour to step into his literary shoes for a few minutes).
Please join us for the second Karavan Press Literary Festival on Saturday, 3 December 2022, at Karavan Press’s headquarters (6 Banksia Road, Rosebank, Cape Town). Ticket numbers are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment. Let’s talk books again!
Taryn Lock, Nancy Richards, Lester Walbrugh, Rešoketšwe Manenzhe, Qarnita Loxton and Karina Szczurek at the Cape Flats Book Festival 2022
“When you live a life of reading, you live like a cat, you experience nine lives,” Premier Alan Winde said at the opening ceremony of the second Cape Flats Book Festival, and added: “There’s nothing like a good book, nothing.” Totally agreed!
And when you live a life of reading, you get to hang out with the coolest of people – readers and writers!
This weekend, readers and writers gathered at the West End Primary School in Mitchells Plain to celebrate the wealth and wonder of literature, and it was an honour to participate. According to the organisers, the festival is “an act of hope, an opportunity to dream beyond our circumstances.” Indeed. And every minute of it was literary delight.
Great vibes, great sessions, laughter and wisdom, lots of connecting and reconnecting and simple sharing – of experience, ideas and the love of books.
Karavan Press authors participating: Joy Watson, Nancy Richards, Lester Walbrugh, Cathy Park Kelly and Joanne Hichens.
Joy Watson, Sara-Jayne Makwala King and Karina Szczurek
The second day of the festival was a little bit quieter, but smaller audience create more intimate interactions and often strong bonds are forged not only between authors and their fans, but also between the authors themselves. Writing is mostly a solitary and often lonely occupation, and it is simply wonderful to encounter others in the same boat and feel slightly less alone in the world.
And when you are lucky, you get to hug Oaky 🙂
Thank you to everyone who made this fantastic event possible!
Karavan Press family – Lester Walbrugh, Thobeka Yose (to be published next year), Karina Szczurek (holding a freshly baked bread, a gift from Lester) and Cathy Park Kelly
Hope to see everyone at the next Cape Flats Book Festival!
12:35-13:15 In Conversation (Adults): Sara-JayneMakwala King (Mad Bad Love) & JOY WATSON (The Other Me)
15:20-16:00 In Conversation (Adults): Colleen Higgs (my mother, my madness) & NANCY RICHARDS (The Skipper’s Daughter) moderated by Leslie Swartz (How I Lost My Mother)
The latest issue of the Johannesburg Review of Books features an excerpt from Lester Walbrugh’s debut novel Elton Baatjies and an interview with Joy Watson.
THURSDAY 15 SEPTEMBER14.00 – 15.00So you want to write? How to start – how to continue: three writers give insight into their writing journeys and the genres they have exploredLester Walbrugh – Elton Baatjies & Let It Fall Where It Will
Shameez Patel – The Last FeatherPenny Haw – The Wilderness Between Us
Moderator: SarahBelle Selig
FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER
9.30 – 11.30Writing workshop with Cathy Park Kelly and Máire Fisher (Library Hall)
14.00 – 15.00What we know and what we learn – about ourselves, our families, our history
Sara-Jayne Makwala King – Mad Bad Love
Erika Bornman – Mission of MaliceCathy Park Kelly – Boiling a Frog Slowly
Moderator: Karina Szczurek
16.00 – 17.00 The stories we choose to tell – memoir, biography and the fictions between
Colleen Higgs – My Mother My MadnessNancy Richards – The Skipper’s Daughter
Hedi Lampert – The Trouble With My AuntModerator: Cathy Park KellySATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER16.00 – 17.00
Personal, social, political – stories that create the fabric of our countrySindiwe Magona – Theatre RoadIn Our Own Words: Nurses on the Front Line
Nick Dall and Matthew Blackman – Spoilt Ballots
Moderator: Tracey Farren
We are delighted to invite you to the launch of Lester Walbrugh‘s eagerly awaited debut novel, Elton Baatjies. Equally delighted that it is going to take place at Liberty Books in Elgin – Lester will be in conversation with Christy Weyer.
Thank you to Paul Cluver Wines for sponsoring the wine for this special occasion!
We can’t wait to share this hauntingly dark, absolutely stunning novel with Readers.
karavanpress.com 